Shrilk - An organic plastic solution
In the 21st century, the effects of global warming and climate change are becoming hard to ignore. With more and more studies coming out detailing the decrepit state of our planet, the time has come to shift our focus to more environmentally sustainable ways of living. While many changes need to be made, two of the most pressing issues are our dependency on petroleum, and our constantly expanding landfills.
While a large percentage of waste that ends up in landfills is biodegradable, plastic and many other products are not. That means that plastic and other types of waste are continuously building up, and never degrading or breaking down. Lots of plastic is diverted from landfills through recycling efforts, but a huge amount still ends up in landfills, or worse – the ocean.
Thankfully, as technology and science progress, we can develop ways to reduce our footprint, as well as our dependency on petroleum. Researchers at the Wyss Institute have recently developed a miraculous new material that they have dubbed “shrilk”. Shrilk is made from the proteins found in crustacean and insect shells. This new material boasts the strength of an aluminum alloy, while weighing approximately 50% less. And the best part? – It’s fully biodegradable!
Today, Shrilk is time consuming and expensive to produce. However, researchers and private companies are hard at work developing this new material into an environmentally sustainable, viable, and hopefully low cost alternative to plastic. In the future, you might be carrying your groceries home in bags made of Shrilk. Instead of being diverted from landfills, Shrilk materials could be thrown away safely, due to the fact that they are fully biodegradable. Plus, the more plastic alternatives we come up with the more we will lessen our dependence on fossil fuels! Isn’t the future exciting?
While a large percentage of waste that ends up in landfills is biodegradable, plastic and many other products are not. That means that plastic and other types of waste are continuously building up, and never degrading or breaking down. Lots of plastic is diverted from landfills through recycling efforts, but a huge amount still ends up in landfills, or worse – the ocean.
Thankfully, as technology and science progress, we can develop ways to reduce our footprint, as well as our dependency on petroleum. Researchers at the Wyss Institute have recently developed a miraculous new material that they have dubbed “shrilk”. Shrilk is made from the proteins found in crustacean and insect shells. This new material boasts the strength of an aluminum alloy, while weighing approximately 50% less. And the best part? – It’s fully biodegradable!
Today, Shrilk is time consuming and expensive to produce. However, researchers and private companies are hard at work developing this new material into an environmentally sustainable, viable, and hopefully low cost alternative to plastic. In the future, you might be carrying your groceries home in bags made of Shrilk. Instead of being diverted from landfills, Shrilk materials could be thrown away safely, due to the fact that they are fully biodegradable. Plus, the more plastic alternatives we come up with the more we will lessen our dependence on fossil fuels! Isn’t the future exciting?
